Not-for-Profit Advisory Council

Susan E. Budak
Sue Budak, CPA, is a consultant and author who writes extensively within the not-for-profit industry, including annual updates of the AICPA Audit and Accounting Guide Not-for-Profit Entities and Checklists and Illustrative Financial Statements: Not-for-Profit Entities. As a staff member and consultant, Sue worked on all the not-for-profit standards issued by FASB from 1991 through 2009. She also worked with the GASB on its reporting model for public colleges and universities. Sue received the 2008 Daniel D. Robinson Accounting Award, which is presented by NACUBO to an individual who has demonstrated a continuous commitment to the advancement of college and university accounting and financial reporting. Earlier in her career, Sue served as assistant controller at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and as a senior accountant at Deloitte in Chicago, Illinois. Sue received her M.M. from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management and her B.B.A. from Loyola University Chicago.

Contact Sue Budak at sebudak@interactiveaccess.com.

Cathy J. Clarke
Cathy Clarke, CPA is the Chief Assurance Officer within CliftonLarsonAllen LLP's national audit and assurance quality group and is based in the firm's national office in Minneapolis, MN. Her primary responsibilities include overseeing the audit quality with the firm, being a technical resource for her firm's audit and assurance practice and quality review of assurance and accounting engagements. She has experience in preparing and conducting training sessions for audit and accounting staff and clients of CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, the AICPA and the Minnesota Society of CPAs. She is a graduate of the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. She is the immediate past chair of the AICPA's Not-for-Profit Industry Expert Panel. Throughout her career, Clarke has served a variety of clients in numerous industries, with an emphasis on not-for-profits and health care entities.

Contact Cathy Clarke at cathy.clarke@claconnect.com.

Karen Craig
Karen Craig, CPA is a consultant providing technical accounting, reporting, finance, and analytical expertise to not-for-profits with a focus on higher education. She holds a degree in journalism and an MBA from California Polytechnic State University and is a licensed CPA in California. From 2002 to 2009, Karen was an Associate Controller at Stanford University where she was responsible for the overall operations of the university's investment accounting, financial reporting, capital accounting, payroll and disbursements departments. Prior to her work at Stanford, she was Controller for a software startup company and a Senior Audit Manager with PricewaterhouseCoopers. Karen hold memberships in the AICPA, in which she is an ex-officio member of the AICPA Not-for-Profit Industry Expert Panel, and the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) in which she is a technical advisor to its Accounting Principles Council.

Contact Karen Craig at klcraigs1@gmail.com.

Alyssa Federico
Alyssa Federico, CPA serves as Vice President for Finance at Foundation for the Carolinas in Charlotte, NC. Her primary responsibilities include serving as the foundation's financial point of contact for client relationships and other accounting-related issues. She manages the daily activities of the finance team, oversees the internal controls of the Foundation and ensures adequate controls exist. Federico holds a bachelors degree in accounting and a masters of professional accountancy in taxation from the University of Utah. She has more than sixteen years of experience in auditing and not-for-profit accounting. She spent five years in the field of public accounting. She currently serves as a member of the Accounting Practices Committee and as Treasurer for the Fiscal and Administrative Officers Group (FAOG), a national network of community foundation finance, administrative and investment executives; as a finance and audit committee member for Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina and CharlotteWorks; and as a member of the FASB Resource Group on their current not-for-profit financial statement project.

Contact Alyssa Federico at afederioc@fftc.org.

Michael L. Forster 

Mike Forster, CPA, CGMA, is Chief Operating Officer of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (“The Wilson Center”) overseeing all Center operations and leading strategic initiatives. He is senior advisor to the CEO, board, and leadership team and coordinates with the U.S. Office of Management & Budget and the U.S. Congress for federal appropriations, while ensuring that the Center toes the line with its legal status as both a federal instrumentality and non-profit enterprise. With 30 years in the finance profession, Mike is a licensed CPA and CGMA, and maintains memberships in the AICPA and GWSCPA. He earned his BBA at George Washington University and his MSA at Central Michigan University.

Contact Mike Forster at Michael.Forster@wilsoncenter.org.

Jennifer Hoffman

Jennifer Hoffman, CPA, serves as partner in Grant Thornton’s Northeast Higher Education and Not-for-Profit Industry Practice. She also serves as Northeast leader of the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion initiative. Having served clients in the not-for-profit sector for more than 20 years, Jennifer has worked with social service and religious organizations, foundations, higher education institutions, and numerous other nonprofit organizations. She is a frequent speaker at industry events, including the annual AICPA Not-for-Profit Industry Conference. Jennifer received a B.S. degree in Accounting from the University at Albany. She serves as chair of the AICPA’s Not-for-Profit Industry Expert Panel and as a member of various AICPA task forces, including the Not-for-Profit Revenue Recognition Task Force. Jennifer also serves as Vice Chair of the Board and Chair of the Audit & Compliance Committee of the Catholic Health Systems Continuing Care Division of Long Island; on the Steering Committee of the Long Island Women’s Collaborative; and on the Accounting Advisory Board at the University at Albany.

Contact Jen Hoffman at jennifer.Hoffman@us.gt.com. 

Betsy Krisher
Betsy Krisher is President and Director of Nonprofit Services of Maher Duessel, a Pennsylvania firm specializing in service to not-for-profit organizations and governmental entities. A licensed CPA in Pennsylvania for more than 30 years, Krisher has extensive experience with not-for-profit organizations including foundations, environmental and human service agencies, and associations, as well as community development, arts/humanities, religious, and member-based organizations. Krisher serves on several committees of the AICPA and the PICPA, including the AICPA’s Tax Resource Panel for Exempt Organizations. She previously served on the AICPA’s Non-Profit Expert Panel/Audit Guide Revision Task Force. A Leadership Pittsburgh graduate, Krisher also volunteers her time with Board service for the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania and the Executive Women’s Council. She speaks annually to various organizations on not-for-profit accounting and tax matters.

Contact Betsy Krisher at bkrisher@md-cpas.com. 

Carolyn Mollen
Carolyn Mollen, CPA is the Chief Financial Officer at Independent Sector, the leadership network for nonprofits, foundations and corporate giving programs. She specializes in not-for-profit accounting and management issues, with an emphasis on financial reporting, budgeting and grants management. Prior to joining Independent Sector, Mollen was a manager with CliftonLarsonAllen LLP in their outsourcing department where she gained broad experience with many nonprofit organizations. She served as a member of the FASB Resource Group on Not-for-Profit Financial Reporting—Other Financial Communications. Mollen is an active member of the AICPA and Greater Washington Society of CPAs, for which she served as the Chair of the Not-for-Profit Section and the Not-for-Profit Symposium. In addition to her professional memberships, she serves as Treasurer for Travelling Players Ensemble, a theater camp, and as a member of the finance committee for Adventure Theater. Mollen earned her bachelor of arts at the College of William and Mary, a certificate in accounting from the University of Virginia, and a master of public administration from George Mason University. She is a licensed CPA in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Contact Carolyn Mollen at carolynm@independentsector.org.

Dave Moja (Chair)
Dave Moja, CPA is a partner with Capin Crouse, LLP. He is dedicated to meeting client needs in the exempt organization tax arena through review of client returns, consulting engagements, training, and the compilation of Capin Crouse's annual Higher Education Tax Reporting Trends Project. Moja has spoken extensively at accounting and tax seminars across the country, including the Florida Association of Chamber Professionals, Christian Leadership Alliance National Conference, National Association of College and University Business Officers annual Tax Forum, and the Florida Institute of CPAs annual not-for-profit conference. He also hosts a quarterly not-for-profit tax webcast. Moja is a member of the IRS' Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (ACT) and serves on the exempt organizations subcommittee. He is the current chair of the Florida Institute of CPA's (FICPA) conference committee. He is a member of the AICPA and the FICPA, and holds licenses in Colorado, Florida, and Georgia. He earned his bachelors degree from Florida State University.

Contact Dave Moja at dmoja@capincrouse.com.

Cheryl R. Olson
Cheryl Olson, CPA, CGMA is the Nonprofit Solutions Strategist for Clark Nuber, PS, providing operational, financial, systems, and governance advisory services. Prior to joining Clark Nuber, she was Director, Council Financial Consulting at the Girl Scouts of the United States of America. For more than twenty years, she has dedicated her career to the not-for-profit sector in a variety of roles, serving as volunteer, consultant, assistant executive director, chief financial officer, auditor and tax accountant. Cheryl holds licenses in Oregon, Washington and New York. She frequently shares her knowledge as an advisor, writer, and presenter, and she is one of the AICPA Not-for-Profit Certificate Program instructors. Cheryl has previously served on the AICPA Not-for-Profit Financial Executive Forum planning team and the AICPA NFP Audit Committee Toolkit Task Force (1st and 2nd editions). Additionally, she is a member of the Oregon Society of CPAs Not-for-Profit Committee and previously served as both Committee and Conference Chair. Cheryl serves as a member of the Finance Committee for the Girl Scouts of Oregon and Southwest Washington. She graduated from the University of the Pacific with a bachelor’s degree in business and public administration, with a concentration in accounting, and is now President of the Alumni Club, Portland, OR Chapter.

Contact Cheryl Olson at colson@clarknuber.com.

Ksenia Popke
Ksenia Popke, CPA, JD, is an audit partner in Eide Bailly LLP's not-for-profit organizations practice, and a member of the firm's Not-for-Profit Technical Issues Committee. Ksenia serves a broad array of not-for-profit entities, including public and private foundations, educational, cultural and performing arts, health and human services, scientific and research, and federally-funded not-for-profit organizations. She was a member of the Advisory Board for the School of Accountancy, Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver, and is the immediate past Chair of the Art Students’ League of Denver Board of Directors. Ksenia received the Colorado Society of CPAs 2013 “CPAs Make a Difference” and 2017 “Women to Watch” awards recognizing her as an emerging female leader for her community service and engagement. She received her master of accountancy degree from the University of Denver, and her juris doctor from the Ural State Law Academy. Ksenia enjoys building rich personal relationships, applying her extensive knowledge to effect creative solutions to complex problems, and sharing colorful stories of life growing up in Russia.

Contact Ksenia Popke at KPopke@eidebailly.com.

Paul Preziotti
Paul Preziotti, CPA, is a principal for the multi-office CPA firm, Johnson Lambert LLP. He is responsible for providing audit, consulting services, and engagement management to not-for-profit entities and employee benefit plans. He has significant experience serving as an advisor for organizations on a variety of issues including risk assessment, governance, compliance, and internal control considerations. Paul is a frequent speaker on audit and accounting topics at various industry conferences and seminars. He is also a member of the AICPA’s Uniform Accountancy Act Committee, an AICPA Leadership Academy alumnus and is a past chair for the Greater Washington Society of CPAs (GWSCPA) Nonprofit Finance & Accounting Symposium. Additionally, Paul serves as a board and audit committee member for Food for Others and as a board and audit committee member for St John’s Community Services. Paul received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Bachelor in International Business degrees from the University of Maryland.

Contact Paul Preziotti at ppreziotti@johnsonlambert.com.

Brian Yacker
Brian Yacker, CPA, JD  has more than twenty years of tax, legal and accounting experience in serving exempt organizations. His areas of expertise include public support test calculations and planning; preparation of reasonable compensation studies; governance best practices consultation; recommendations regarding effective bylaws; conducting of EO governance check-ups; compliance with the §501(h) lobbying safe harbor; proper functional expense allocations; maximizing charity watchdog ratings; preparation of federal and state tax exemption applications; conducting of unrelated business income revenue stream studies; and the proper internal and external reporting of special event fundraisers. Yacker is actively involved in the AAA-CPA, serving on their board, finance committee, and executive Committee. He also serves on the board and as an executive committee member for BookEnds and as the Treasurer for the Long Beach Nonprofit Partnership.  Yacker earned his bachelors degree in finance and marketing from the University of Virginia and his juris doctor from the Indiana University School of Law at Bloomington. His personal interests include hiking, camping, sports memorabilia collecting, playing fantasy sports, Asian cooking, and spending time with his wife, two daughters, and son.

Contact Brian Yacker at byacker@yhadvisors.com.